The Chinese genera fit into four distinct clades which can be treated as subfamilies of an enlarged Malvaceae or as distinct families. These are Sterculioideae/Sterculiaceae s.s. (genera 1-4), Helicteroideae/Helicteraceae (genera 5 and 6), Byttnerioideae/Byttneriaceae (genera 7-13), and Dombeyoideae/Pentapetaceae (genera 14-19).

The record of Hildegardia Schott & Endlicher in China (Bayer & Kubitzki, Fam. Gen. Vasc. Pl. 5: 265. 2003) was based on H. major (W. W. Smith) Kostermans, which is here included within Firmiana.